Wednesday dubbed the worst day of the work week. I mean who really likes Wednesday’s anyways? They are not quite as in your face and looming as Monday is or nearly as exciting as the ever loved Friday. Rather they are a reminder that you are only half way through the work week. With this in mind we created a fun way to celebrate the dreaded mid-week Wednesday. And quite frankly we love Wednesdays!

Welcome our newest segment entitled Wandering Wednesday’s. Here we will feature various travel features like this one entitled “Where in the World are the Pomeroy Mitts?” We’ll post it and the first person to correctly guess our mittens location wins a prize. Let’s start with an easy one! We are looking for the city and event name. Ready, set, guess!

It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here. Depending on who’s reading this and your role in Christmas you might find yourself in one of the following categories:

1.Exhausted from last minute Christmas Shopping

2.Exhausted from the late night wrapping frenzy from the eve previous

3.With a house full of company.

4.Cooking a big family dinner

5.Paper cuts from opening so many gifts

6.Thankful

7.Thankful…that it’s all over

8.Ready for a mid-day Christmas nap (one of my favourites)

9.Ready to open your own Disney Store or Lego Land

10.Full…How much Christmas baking is one person expected to eat?

Whether you are in 1, 3, none or all of these categories, Christmas is a really special day. It’s a day that brings people together and highlights what is really important. More than the gifts, more than the albeit delicious Christmas baking, the turkey and the tree, the underlying theme is LOVE. We are so blessed and we hope that you get to take some time today to be with the ones you love and be thankful and grateful for all you have.

From all of our staff, at the Pomeroy Inn & Suites we wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!! May the Christmas season fill your home with joy, your heart with love and your life with laughter.

After receiving notice that our very own Dale Isley (General Manager, Pomeroy Inn & Suites Fort St. John) was named Mr. Movember, Fort St. John I knew I had to try to get an interview! Luckily our people know his people.

Here is a bit of our conversation with Mr. Movember …

What made you decide to participate in Movember? I’ve been involved in Movember in Edmonton for the past 3 years, however this is the first company I have been with that has allowed me to grow facial hair. In the past the hotels I have worked for have been really specific as to their brand standards which didn’t allow for participation to that level. It also became really important this year as my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in April, so opportunities to give back in anyway have become pretty important.

Was this the longest length of time you have gone without shaving your face? If not, when was? Yes.

Did you have a specific “Mo Style”, that you were going for? I was going for the “Tom Selleck”, but I think it more turned out the “Burt Reynolds”.

Who is your mustache idol? Tom Selleck, although if Movember was a two month gig, I’d surely be striving for the Lanny McDonald. Even though my hair is brown, my moustache came out surprisingly red.

What is your favourite type of food to get stuck in your mo? Easy…Cherry Pie!

Was it hard to part with your prize winning mo on December 1st?It was pretty devastating actually. If it wasn’t for the great ladies at the Barber Shop (located in the parking lot of the Stonebridge Hotel) donating their time to give straight blade hot shaves at the Movember Gala, it would have been extremely difficult.

How much money did you raise personally? I worked a little bit differently this year. As I’m from Edmonton, I joined up with a few of my friends who have all moved away. A friend of mine has opened a pub in Vancouver call the Beaver and Mullet. He asked if I could help with his team “the Movem-beavers” and we raised between the four of us $550.00. I spent more time on awareness campaigns in Fort St.John in a group as a whole than soliciting donations and that may change for next year. That is evident in the next question.

How much did Fort St. John as a whole, raise? The last total announced was $30,000 which is an extreme amount for this area. With help from a lot of local vendors putting event after event on throughout the month. Specifically, Northwoods Inn did a pizza night where each pizza they sold they contributed $5.00 (if you don’t know FSJ, Northwoods arguably has the best pizza in the area). A gentleman named Neil Evans was able to secure a pilot to donate one hour of flight time for a tour of FSJ that he raffled for a month at various locations around the city and drew at the Movember Gala, and the Lido Theater for donating venue space for opening and closing events, including live entertainment. We don’t have exact numbers, but I was told it was more than Dawson Creek and Prince George combined. The total numbers should be available in a couple of weeks.

As Christmas quickly approaches, many of us are busy booking our tickets on planes, trains and buses to get home to our loved ones for the holidays. And despite the joy of the season, getting from point A to point B can often leave us with a less than merry outlook on the holidays.

Last year around this time, I was waiting in an airport queue with 30 other anxious travellers, only to find out our flight had been delayed out of Grande Prairie, causing a number of missed connections in Calgary, including mine to London, Ontario. The solution offered to me was, wait another three days until there was a flight with availability to London. While not so successfully fighting back tears, I tried to explain that this was not an option. .. Didn’t the attendant know I had an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party to attend the next night? This was followed up with the option of boarding flight to Ottawa arriving that night, a mere 7 hour drive from my intended destination. Not happening. Finally, after what seemed like hours of searching, the attendant told me that there was still one flight heading to Toronto from Calgary that night, and she would book me on. HOORAY!, I thought. However, my relief was very short lived when she then realized that while there was room on the flight for my luggage, there was no room for me!

So, there I was on a flight to Calgary, hoping to literally stow away in my suitcase and get on the flight with it to Toronto. When we landed I frantically ran to the desk agent, looking like one of those people you don’t want to look like in a public place, and explained my situation. I spoke to probably the nicest British man in Calgary who agreed to pull my bags from the plane and put me on standby for the flight to Toronto. After nervously pacing by the boarding desk for almost another hour, the check in attendant informed me that both my luggage and myself would be lucky enough to board the flight to Toronto! Christmas is saved! With the flight still another couple hours from leaving, I had to find some creative ways to stay occupied in the Calgary airport.

I learned a few lessons that day that hopefully will help some of you as you prepare to travel home for the holidays:

Who wants to win an iPad 2?

Did I get your attention?!

We have exciting news to share from the Pomeroy Inn and Suites brand office! We have officially launched our Facebook page, and are beginning to roll out our first promotion! Which means YOU could win an iPad 2!

And the prizes don’t stop there, my friends… The 12 Days of Christmas is almost here!! Stay tuned for more details on how you can win great daily prizes, and a chance to win an iPad 2! “On the First Day of Christmas, Pomeroy Inn and Suites Gave to ME….” Any guesses??

Although I saw a lot of not-so-spooky business casual “costumes” around the office on Halloween, employees at our head office got into the Halloween spirit by dressing up their offices! A contest was held for the Best Decorated Space! Here are a few snaps of some of the entries, as well as this year’s winner, Shelley’s Do Not Enter Dungeon!! Congratulations!

Our hotels got into the spirit too! Some of them even hosted Pumpkin Carving contests in their communities! Here are some pictures from them!

Am I the only delinquent out there who has yet to put her winter tires on her vehicle? I, as well as most of you in our area, had our first rude reminder last week that winter travel season has arrived. (My reminder came while I was doing an involuntary donut at an intersection in our subdivision.)

I made the decision last year to finally purchase winter tires. I can confidently say it was the best decision I’ve made since my purchase of a remote car starter. (Also very necessary, in my opinion!)

Do you have any winter travel tips that you can recommend? (Leave a tip and we'll send you some Pomeroy winter gear!)

My solution is usually to practice hibernation; however, we are not always afforded that luxury! We live in an area that is relentlessly beaten down by winter weather, from frigid temperatures to high winds causing poor visibility. All of these elements can make for some scary travelling situations.

I found a couple helpful links that I thought I would share with you, as we get ready to brave yet another Canadian winter!

Hello all! Allow me to introduce myself… I’m Becky, the new Communications & Marketing Manager here at Pomeroy Inn and Suites. You will be hearing from me lots over the next little while as I explore the Peace Country (& beyond)… and get settled into my new role here!

A big part of getting to know my position is travelling across the Peace, and Northern BC, checking out our different locations. Say it with me…. Road Trip!! I am excited to share with you my travels in the area and other fun and exciting things that are going on here at Pomeroy Inn & Suites and in our communities!

First Stop – Grimshaw !!

Christy, Kim and I piled into the truck early on Thursday morning with Grimshaw, Alberta punched into the GPS. Coffees in hand, the goal was to get to the Pomeroy Inn & Suites…. before we missed out on the complimentary breakfast and waffle bar.

For some of you this may appear to be a mundane Thursday activity, but who doesn’t love to work outside of the office for the day? Plus, I was excited to, not only get a tour of our hotel for the first time, but also to see more of Peace Country on a beautiful fall day. The highlight of the drive for me was the view from the winding portion of Hwy # 2 that leads down to Dunvegan Bridge and across the Peace River. What gorgeous fall colours!!

A short time later we pulled into the parking lot of the Pomeroy Inn & Suites, and noticed someone waving out the window at us, and knew it had to be Vivian, the hotel’s fantastically friendly General Manager! Once inside we took care of some business, and got down to the real business – the waffle bar! This was my first time making a waffle like this and it was genius! Who can resist a freshly made waffle smothered in maple syrup, strawberries and whipped cream?! Even though I saw a variety of fresh fruit and yogurt, I felt the need to treat myself!!

During our visit we also had the opportunity to tour the new Mile Zero Regional Multiplex that is being constructed across the street from the Pomeroy. If you are ever in the area, it is a definite must see – with state of the art facilities, including a full ice rink, community fitness room and an indoor field house. This brand new Multiplex will no doubt become a pinnacle in the community. To read more about the project and opening dates, click here.

Before heading back to Grande Prairie, we dropped off some items to Vivian for the new Recycling Program – and had some lovely models to show off our new recycling bin stickers! We Recycling!

(Christy, Left; Vivian, Right)

Next up – Chetwynd !!

I am planning to pack my camera this time and get some great shots along the way to share with you all!!

We stay at the Chetwynd Pomeroy Inn and Suites from August 30- September 2. We could not of asked for anything better. They were a full hotel upon check in and we were able to get a room not only for one night but for 3 nights. Our stay we great, staff always made sure we had everything we needed each day, clean hotel, and very friendly people. I would like to stay thank you very much for everything, if we are in the Chetwynd area again we will stay with them again and tell people about this great hotel also. Thank you

Old and new traditions collided last week as the official ground breaking ceremony was held at Olds College for the new Canadian Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship. This event known as the Official Sod Turning Ceremony used a 20th Century plow to signal the start of construction. This is reminiscent of the original ground breaking ceremony held for the start of Olds College in the early 1900’s. The Pomeroy Inn & Suites is proud and excited to be a part of the CIRE program which is a hands-on learning curriculum for credit based and continuing education students in Country Side Management. This program includes local food production, alternate land-use management, rural hospitality management, farm fresh food sales and tourism

Construction of Canadian Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship officially begins by Rick Overwater on September 7, 2011

A significant event in Olds College’s near-century long history took place today as ground was officially broken for construction of Pomeroy Inn & Suites and the Canadian Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship (CIRE).

Numerous dignitaries including The Honourable Luke Ouellette, Minister of Transportation and Red Deer South MLA Cal Dallas were on hand as the college turned sod to begin construction of a four star hotel, restaurant and convention centre with a commercial kitchen suitable for training. Within this complex, the Canadian Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship will offer highly specialized programming for rural entrepreneurs in Alberta and beyond.

Constructed by the Pomeroy Group, the Pomeroy Inns & Suites will be comprised of a four star hotel, restaurant and convention centre with a commercial kitchen suitable for training.

“Over 55 per cent of Alberta’s 400,000 business enterprises are in rural Alberta, many growing outside of the traditional sectors that dominate the rural economy,” said Dr. Tom Thompson, President, Olds College. “They require increased support similar to that which the agriculture sector has enjoyed over the years. Through our partnership with the Pomeroy Group, they will get it.”

Situated on five acres of land, north of Olds College’s Land Sciences Building and south of Highway 27, the CIRE will develop new curriculum for credit-based and continuing education in countryside management:local food production, alternative land-use management, rural hospitality management, farm-fresh food sales, and tourism.

“The CIRE, contained within Pomeroy Inn & Suites displays our commitment to financial creativity and sustainability,” said Barry Mehr, Chair, Olds College Board of Governors.“In an era of diminishing public funding, the investment returns and lease payments generated by this development will provide a strong alternative revenue stream to College operations for many years to come.”

“For years, we have been the leading provider of hospitality services in Northern Alberta and the opportunity to partner with Olds College in an innovative way in Central Alberta is an opportunity we greatly welcome,” said Ryan Pomeroy, President of Pomeroy Inn and Suites Inc. “We are confident this new facility will be of significant benefit to the surrounding community in numerous ways.”

The CIRE is aligned with the Government of Alberta’s Regional Stewardship objectives